European Motor Holdings has acquired a Land Rover dealership from the Hartwell Group in St Helens for £500,000.

EMH has also entered into a short term lease of the dealership's existing site from Hartwell.

Richard Palmer, chief executive of EMH, said: "The expansion of our Land Rover franchises is part of our declared strategy for the group and the location of the new dealership also represents a good fit with our existing Land Rover businesses in Chester and Preston and our other businesses in the North West."

The unaudited management accounts of the Land Rover dealership for the year ended November 30, showed a profit before taxation of £142,000 on a turnover of £15.7 million.